Nhlanhla Nene, South Africa’s former finance minister, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, U.K. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

“It is clear that other top officials in the ANC did not agree with Zuma’s decision to axe Nhlanhla Nene as Minister of Finance and to replace him with an inexperienced candidate, and that they have decided to step in and force the president to change his decision,” said Solidarity spokesperson Francois Redelinghuys.

According to Redelinghuys, Zuma’s virtually autocratic decision to get rid of former Minister Nhlanhla Nene exposed his ignorance about the management of the government. It is also proof of the fact that he is only looking after the interests of cadres and that he does not have the interests of the country’s people at heart, and this cannot be tolerated any longer.

“This intervention shows that Zuma’s ignorance will not be tolerated any longer. Now is the time to wield the axe even further so that all cadre deployments that are paralysing the economy, such as that of Dudu Myeni at SAA, are abolished,” Redelinghuys said.